Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c7.s2.1

c7.s2.1

*The Daily Mail*, London, published a series of articles on India between April 1933 and April 1934 by many eminent British administrators. These articles were later published in the form of a pamphlet which cost one penny. The articles are full of imperialist love for India - a love also shared by the earlier Muslim imperialist power. Islam has all the ingredients of imperialism found anywhere in the world in any age. In one of the aforesaid articles Rothermere asserts that "The plain fact is that India is as indispensable to Britain as Britain is to India" in the same vein as today it is claimed that India is as indispensable to Muslims as Muslims are to India. In another article Sir Michael O'Dwyer, formerly Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, wrote: "The essentials of a good government in every country are: (1) External and internal security, (2) Impartial justice (3) Progressive and efficient administration and (4) Light taxation."⁵⁷ According to Ruben Levy, as noted earlier, "the duties of the ruler in Islam are (also) four" - judgement or justice, Taxation, Friday service and Jihad. We have already dealt with Jihad which also took care of external and more so of internal security. We shall take up the study of taxation later on. Here we shall concentrate on justice and Friday service under Muslim rule.